The Hat Lady

Linda Paston

In a childhood of hats---
my uncles in homburgs and derbies,
Fred Astaire in high black silk,
the yarmulke my grandfather wore
like the palm of a hand
cradling the back of his head---
only my father went hatless,
even in winter.

And in the spring,
when a turban of leaves appeared
on every tree, the Hat Lady came
with a fan of pins in her mouth
and pins in every sleeves,
the Hat Lady came---
that Saint Sebastian of pins,
to measure my mother's head.

I remember a hat of dove-gray felt
that settled like a bird
on the nest of my mother's hair.
I remember a pillbox that tilted
over one eye--pure Myrna Loy,
and a navy straw with cherries caught
at the brim that seemed real enough
for a child to want to pick.

Last year when the chemicals
took my mother's hair, she wrapped
a towel around her head.  And the Hat Lady came,
a bracelet of needles on each arm,
and led her to a place
where my father and grandfather waited,
head to bare head, and Death


winked at her and tipped his cap.

Homburg







Derbie





Fred Astaire





yarmulke

     The first stanza makes references to all the above pictures.  These are all associated with her childhood.  It informs you that her family is Jewish because her Grandfather wore a yarmulke.  I thought it was interesting that her father didn't wear a hat.  



turban



Saint Sebastian



     The second stanza goes on to talk about the Hat Lady.  In line ten, Pastan uses the word turban, a type of hat often used in the Sikh religion, to describe the leaves.  Line fifteen makes an allusion to Saint Sebastian, which was a Christian saint and matyr.  She talks about how the Hat Lady to fit her mother for a hat. 



Myrna Loy



     Stanza four makes a reference to Myrna Loy, an American actress.  I didn't find if she was religious or not, but I found out that she had multiple failed marriges and an abortion, which rules out a lot of religions.  This stanza goes into detail of the hats her mother wore that were made by the Hat Lady.  

    The last stanza reveals that her mother is dying of cancer.  She talks about Death, and mentions him tipping his cap.  Even Death wears a hat.  Throughout the poem, different religions are tied in through types of hats, and I think Death at the end brings all of them together.  

     The poem is made up of four octaves.  There isn't a rhyme scheme or meter to the poem.